


Friday I'm in Love

by agoodpersonrose



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Canon Gay Relationship, First Kiss, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hiking, M/M, Pining, Romantic Friendship, Rose Apothecary (Schitt's Creek), Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodpersonrose/pseuds/agoodpersonrose
Summary: Or 5 times Patrick and David's dates were interrupted, and 1 time they didn't let it happen.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 53
Kudos: 189





	1. Grad Night

**Author's Note:**

> _I don't care if Monday's blue,_   
>  _Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too,_   
>  _Thursday I don't care about you,_   
>  _It's Friday I'm in Love._

The first time it happens, it’s David’s birthday. He had been acting flighty all day, making strange comments to customers and moping around the store with none of his usual presence. After a particularly uncomfortable interaction with a customer, Patrick gave in and asked the question David was clearly digging for.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah it’s fine” he brushed off quickly.

“Alright.”

There was silence for a moment or two whilst the pair continued to work, before David picked up the conversation again. “Here’s a question, um, has your family ever forgotten your birthday? Like your parents and your sister, collectively, as a whole?”

“That would be a no, no, we’ve always had some sort of party” Patrick replied, smiling slightly in confusion as he considered David’s question carefully.

“Oh.”

“In fact, sometimes two parties, one before school ended with my friends and then another with family, with my cousins who were kind of more like siblings… But they’ve forgotten like, other things” he trailed off as he gathered that he was likely being insensitive.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Kind of piecing together that it might be your birthday.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Well happy birthday!” he said cheerfully, smiling brightly as David’s mood seemed to improve at his statement, “How old are we? -- uhh do you have any plans for today or?”

“Uhh I plan on popping a pill, crying a bit, and falling asleep early.” He joked sarcastically as Patrick huffed a laugh, “So just a regular weeknight.”

“Well, sounds like fun.”

“It is.”

“You ever tried the-the Café Tropical? I’ve heard people raving about how moderately edible the food is there” he joked.

“Hah well, yes.”

“We could uh, we could go for a birthday dinner?” Patrick suggested, crossing his arms across his chest and smiling hopefully.

“You don’t have to do that” David shook his head.

“No I-I’d like to.”

David hesitated for a moment, before nodding and allowing a small smile of his own to slip out, “sure.”

“Shall we say eight o’clock?”

“Okay”

“Great” Patrick tried to suppress his smile as he continued to spritz the fresh vegetables that had arrived at the store the day before, his eagerness expressed itself in different ways however, leading to him soaking the greens in water rather than lightly spraying them, “those are wet now” he said awkwardly, moving towards the stock room to get a towel.

“That’s a lot of spritzing”

“I’m gonna dry those off”

Patrick had been working up the courage ever since their semi-hard opening of the store to ask his business partner out. Despite being a take-charge kind of guy, he considered himself embarrassingly disadvantaged in the field of dating. It had always been so easy with girls, the fear of rejection covered almost completely by his own hope that they would turn him down and he could claim a broken heart or wounded pride as his excuse for not asking any girls out for the next couple of months.

Now however, it felt that there was so much riding on David’s response. He spent the majority of his waking hours in the store, working alongside David, trying to make him smile and on good-days, even being rewarded with a fully-fledged laugh from his partner.

It was his eagerness to make David laugh that had made him aware of his growing attraction to the other man. Whilst he had been aware of his sexuality ever since he had split up with Rachel for the last time and fled their home for the open road, he had never before felt a connection or attraction to anyone like he did with David.

They got on so well. They seemed to immediately fall into a pattern of teasing each other relentlessly in ways that generally only close friends would, and they appeared to have an immediate connection and understanding of each other that Patrick had never experienced before in his life.

But David probably had. He had far more experience in the dating field than Patrick could even dream of. He wore his identity on his sleeve and was more than comfortable being honest about his beliefs and his opinions on what was right and wrong, especially concerning aesthetics, which he considered himself an expert on.

Everything about David was attractive to him. His strong opinions and willingness to give and take the teasing that Patrick initiated. His clear reluctant affection for those around him including his family and friends, but also the strange inhabitants of the small town who confused Patrick to no end, but whom David seemed to have a quiet acceptance of. Even Ray, whose fast-moving enthusiasm was the polar opposite of David, who was a closed book to most of the people around him, earned a quiet fondness from the mysterious man.

It entranced Patrick and made him almost desperate to gain attention from David, which pushed him to initiate teasing and banter in an almost overly confident way in every interaction the two had.

Patrick honestly didn’t even know if what he and David had been doing these last few months could be defined as flirting. He hoped it was, he knew that was what he was trying to do, but for all he knew David saw him as no different to Stevie, who he had seen first-hand as having an extremely close relationship with David, bonded through their sharp wit and similarly dismissive sense of humour.

But now Patrick could finally say he had asked David out. It wasn’t a perfect situation, with David already miserable about his parent’s forgetfulness about his birthday, but it was a start, and it felt so good to know that by tonight they would both know where they stood with each other in romantic terms. He knew that whatever happened that night, he would have done everything that he could to make his feelings clear to David, and if that lead to nothing then at least he had shown his cards and made an effort to make a move forward in their relationship.

***

As he left the store that night, agreeing a final time with David that he would meet him at the café at eight, Patrick felt a sense of anxiety that he had never felt for a date before, that he attributed to his relief at finally asking David out, mixed with his excitement for his first official date with a man since he had come to terms with the fact that he was gay.

On arriving at Ray’s house, he changed from his dark blue shirt to a more formal light one and stood critically in front of the mirror. He put the jacket on for a moment, sighing at his reflection. He took it back off, it was too formal and didn’t go with the setting of their date. He put it back on, if he didn’t wear the jacket then David might mistake his invitation for dinner as simply a meal between friends or a pity-date in response to his family neglecting to celebrate with him.

He hesitated one final time before nodding at his reflecting and checking the time. He still had half an hour before he needed to leave to be at the café for eight, so he hesitated for a while, sitting on his bed and scrolling through his phone.

As the minutes ticked away, the nervousness set in. Did David know this was a date? Did he only accept because he was too afraid to turn him down and ruin their friendship? Was he going to have to awkwardly reject him after this dinner after explaining that he just wasn’t attracted to straight-passing, straight-legged jean wearing, business majors?

He pushed these questions away as he went to head out of his room, pausing as he passed his dresser. On it stood a framed copy of the first receipt printed from the store. It had felt monumental in the moment and he had saved a copy, picking up a frame for it in Elmdale the next weekend. He had intended on giving it as a gift to David but as the time passed between the store opening and him giving the gift, it had seemed too out-of-the-blue to do on a normal day, and he was sure it would alert David to the not-so-friendly feelings he was harbouring for his business partner. So, he had kept it safe in his room, waiting for the right opportunity to offer it up.

He grabbed the frame and headed down the stairs, finding Ray in the kitchen cooking up something for dinner.

“Patrick! Hi!” Ray exclaimed, looking up from the stove and smiling brightly in a way that would appear fake if it came from anyone else, but Patrick had no doubt that it was anything but genuine coming from his housemate, “you look very formal tonight! I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I suppose you’re going somewhere nice, a hot date perhaps?”

Patrick tried to cover his cringe with a smile as he paused at the bottom of the stairs, gesturing with the hand holding the frame, “no Ray, me and David just agreed to meet for dinner to celebrate a successful week at the store. Actually, do you have anything I could wrap this in?”

“Ooh how wonderful! I would ask to join you however I am already half-way done with my bhajis and they are better fresh from the pan, I’m sure you understand.” He continued oblivious to Patrick’s clear huff of relief, “you’re in luck! I have a wide variety of materials to wrap presents, I was hoping that a business opportunity would open itself up wherein I could become a professional wrapper. However, we have been disappointingly lacking in requests so I have a large stock remaining. Now what were you thinking of, if the present is romantic then I have some very tasteful heart patterned paper?”

“Huh, maybe just a bag or something?” Patrick asked, heart rate increasing as he thought about the embarrassment of handing David a heart covered present across the table of the café.

“Of course! In fact, I have some that will match your blue colour-scheme just perfectly!” Ray exclaimed, wiping his hands-on a nearby tea towel and disappearing into the office.

He returned quickly, brandishing a dark blue gift bag and a sheet of light blue tissue paper. He made a quick job of putting the framed receipt in the bag and smiled at Patrick devilishly as he took the package back, checking his pockets for his phone, wallet and keys before heading for the door. “Have a wonderful night with David, ciao!” he cooed, chuckling to himself as Patrick closed the door behind him, sighing as he climbed into the car, starting it and reversing out of the drive.

***

Patrick arrived at the Café almost ten minutes earlier than he’d intended, but he blamed a mix of eagerness to escape Ray’s knowing looks, as well as pent up nervousness for David’s arrival. He sat down in his and David’s usual booth where they sat when they had a slow day and took a proper lunch break together.

Twyla appeared as if out of thin air, “Hi Patrick, are you dining alone tonight?” she asked, handing him a menu and smiling openly.

“Hi Twyla, uh, no, actually David is coming, it’s his birthday so I-we thought we’d get dinner to celebrate.”

She nodded slowly at him, smiling eagerly in the same way Ray had, and setting another place across from him, “that’s very nice of you, I’ll leave you with these and come and take your order when he gets here” she said, winking as she left, leaving Patrick with renewed nerves to wait for David’s arrival.

He didn’t have to wait long, and soon enough David was there, strolling into the café and offering Patrick a small wave. Patrick hesitated in his uncertainty over whether it would be appropriate to stand up and greet David who interrupted that train of thought, “Almost didn’t see you there through the mad rush of the Friday night dinner crowd.” He joked, immediately making Patrick relax with his easy joking and small smile.

“I’m just so relieved that I made a reservation”

“Yes. Well, you look very nice”, Patrick tried to conceal his glee at the compliment and covered it with another joke, catching what he hoped was a flirtatious look from the other man as they settled in.

“Oh, thanks. Well, you know, I-I assumed that the café would have a dinner jacked policy and I didn’t wanna wear one of theirs.”

“Mmm-hmm. Um, well, the amazing thing about this place is they’ve done such a wonderful job of, um, editing down their menu to a very concise, world-class selection of international cuisine” David joked, opening the extensive menu to its full length as he pursed his lips and waited for Patrick’s response.

“Agreed. Agreed. Dare we try the uhh deep-fried mozzarella stick platter?”

“Mmm, they do a lovely wine pairing with that so…”

Patrick smiled fully at that, looking back at the menu as he thought about what to suggest next when Stevie arrived, looking sheepishly at the pairing with her bag hanging over one shoulder, clearly coming straight from the motel.

“Sorry, I’m late. Is everybody here or are other people coming?”

“Uhh, I don’t know. Is anyone else coming?” Patrick directed his question at David, a small amount of irritation breaking out as he raised his eyebrows at his partner.

“No. This is, um, this is it. In case you didn’t know, I’m wildly popular. Some might even venture to call me beloved.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch” he returned, smiling slightly despite himself. “Welcome, Stevie. I-I-I’m sorry, if I’d known you were coming, I would have had them set three places but, um…” he gestured uncomfortably towards the table in resignation.

“Oh!”

“Did I not tell you?” David asked, drawing out the words awkwardly and cringing as he tensed up slightly.

“But you know? Hey! The more the merrier. I’m gonna just, um, hit the restroom real quick. And, uh, and then I’ll come back.”

Patrick shifted out of the booth and walked quickly to the restroom, locking the door behind him and covering his face with his hands momentarily. He let his frustration build as he stood there, regretfully thinking over his earlier invitation to have dinner with David. Had he not made it clear enough that he was asking him out on a date? Or maybe he had, and David just wasn’t interested in him like that and had invited Stevie in a method of letting Patrick down easily and making sure it wasn’t awkward when they had to go back to work together tomorrow.

He washed his hands in the small, slightly rusty sink, wiping a quick cool hand over his face and checking his reflection again to make sure he wasn’t too flushed. Satisfied, he left and returned to the table, where David had paled and was looking at him with wide eyes as Stevie pushed his wrapped present across the table towards him.

“Oh, I see you found my present.” He smiled awkwardly as he slipped back into the booth next to Stevie, who was smiling at him slyly.

“Um, yeah. We just didn’t want anything to spill on it.” David replied, looking uncomfortable and refusing to look at Patrick directly.

“So, you put it _on_ the table?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.”

“ _Open_ it David!” Stevie said excitedly, looking between the two with eager eyes.

“Oh, no, no, no. No, you can open it later. It’s really not a big deal.” Patrick protested, pulling the bag back towards him and slipping it onto the floor at his feet as David narrowed his eyes but allowed him to do so, “I’ll give it to you later.”

David nodded reservedly, still eyeing the package with distrust and crossing his arms in front of him, “okay but you can’t keep it from me forever” he said, tone returning to something more like the teasing that Patrick was used to, “that is the first gift I haven’t bought myself in a very long time. So, I do want to open it at some point.”

“Noted” Patrick responded smiling, as he fluttered his eyes back to the menu in front of him. Stevie boo-ed half-heartedly but gave in quickly as Twyla arrived with a plate of half-edible mozzarella sticks.

The three of them dug into the fried food, heeding Twyla’s warning about their short life-span between the kitchen and the table and there was comfortable conversation about the shop and the motel and Alexis’ graduation as they munched on the food.

Patrick almost couldn’t find it in him to be disappointed as he watched David laugh along with his jokes, a new sort of fondness underlying their interactions.

“Well, this has certainly been a vast improvement on what I was expecting.” David began slowly, smiling shyly at Patrick and casting Stevie only the briefest of glances, “so thank you, both of you, for coming tonight.”

“We’re happy to be here” Stevie said in a moment of sincerity, before quickly countering it with a snarky comment, “but if you think that I’m paying for anything we’ve eaten tonight you are sorely incorrect.”

Stevie took this opportunity to make her leave, rambling about getting home in time for a thing she had to do, tapping Patrick’s shoulder as she rushed out of the café and winking at him from the door.

David let out a laugh as he turned back to Patrick, who forced a tight-lipped smile as they shuffled out from the table at the same time, moving slowly towards the door, “do you need a lift back to the motel?” he asked he held the door open for him and they stepped out into the cool evening air.

“If you don’t mind?”

***

“Well, that was a fun night.” David said slowly as they pulled up in front of the motel, but made no move to exit the car, instead turning fully towards Patrick and smiling softly.

“I’m really glad that I decided to invest in your business, David.”

“That is a really lovely thing to say.”

“And I’m so glad you did, Patrick, because you’ve really helped to turn it into the success that it is.” Patrick joked, smiling through his nerves as he felt a new wave of butterflies enter his stomach.

“Mmm. A bold claim.” David snarked back, and they were silent, looking at each other fondly.

For a moment, Patrick could’ve sworn that David was leaning in as if to kiss him, and he shifted forward in his seat to anticipate the move. However, their moment was interrupted by David’s motel room door opening and his sister rushing out and waving at him.

“David!” she exclaimed, gesturing for him to come inside, “Happy Birthday!”, she held out a small glass bottle with several yellow flowers stuck haphazardly in it.

“Ugh shit” David muttered under his breath, smiling sadly at Patrick as he undid his seat and reached for the door, “I’m sorry, thank you for tonight”

“It was my pleasure David; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With one last, heated look, David was up and out of the car, gesturing at his sister to go back into the motel as he turned and waved to Patrick, his blue gift bag hanging, still unopened, from one hand as he turned and entered the motel, giving Alexis a gentle push as the door closed behind them.

Patrick sighed for a moment, rubbing his hand over his eyes in frustration and putting the car into reverse. He drove in silence back to Ray’s, cursing his own lack of clarity, cursing the café and Alexis and his hesitation in making a move.

His confusion increased as he considered the night. The signs that David was not interested in him were clear, his invitation to Stevie, his discomfort at the café, it was enough to make Patrick back off, move on, and nurse his bruised ego in silence for the good of the business. But then, that moment in the car, he had been so sure that David was leaning in to kiss him, and he would have kissed him himself had they not been interrupted.

It was too much for Patrick to de-tangle in one night, so he slipped into the house silently, thankful for Ray’s notable absence from the common space, and settled into bed for the night, sighing and fidgeting as he turned on his side and checked his phone, finding a message from David waiting for him.

**11:16 Thank you for the present, and for the evening, I had a lot of fun.**

_11:21 It’s nothing, I’m glad you had a good birthday, I had a really nice time._

**11:22 That is not nothing, so thank you.**

_11:22 Goodnight David x_

**11:23 Goodnight Patrick x**


	2. Vendor Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick makes a second attempt in asking out David, and they have a moment over some very nice chutney and cheese.

It took until the following Friday for Patrick to build back up his nerve and ask David out again.

He was on edge all week waiting for the next opportunity he would get to talk to David alone. The store had been extremely busy which was a positive thing, but it left almost no room for the playful banter that Patrick had grown used to in the few months they had spent together, setting up the store in private.

So, Patrick waited, and planned. The evening before he had received a message from a vendor that David had been raving about to supply jarred foods; pickles, jams, and chutney all home-made. The woman lived a short drive away, less than an hour in good conditions, and Patrick thought it might be a good opportunity both to get David on his own, and line his stomach with (hopefully) delicious deli food which Mrs Westbrook had offered as incentive to get them to visit.

He walked into the store to find Alexis perched on top of the cash register in a flowing summer dress, David stood in front of her restocking their supply of body milks. As the bell rang, he looked up and smiled at Patrick softly, pausing briefly in his job and turning fully to his business partner.

“You’re here early,” Patrick joked, slipping between the Rose siblings and heading behind the counter to drop off his bag, “should I be worried about something?”

“Oh my _God_ , Patrick it was awful” Alexis drawled, looking up from her phone and pouting, “we _literally_ got kicked out of the motel at like _eight o’clock_ this morning, apparently Stevie found a dead body in one of the rooms and we’ve had to clear out completely until they can get rid of it. David doesn’t do well in the mornings, poor thing, and so I had to come and help him before opening.”

“Okay, would we call you testing all the product helping?” David snarked, facing his sister and gesturing in her face wildly, “because you are testing my patience and Patrick and I have a business to run, believe it or not, that you’re getting in the way of.”

Patrick returned from the back, crossing his arms and leaning one hip against the counter where David had returned to stacking product. “Actually David, I was thinking we might close early this afternoon. I got a text from Mrs Westbrook yesterday, she said she’d spoken to you on the phone about some home-made chutney and stuff that you were so interested in, and she said she was available this afternoon if we wanted to go on a vendor call and test some stuff and decide if we wanted to stock it?”

“Oh, I could just go this afternoon, we don’t have to close the store early or anything, won’t that be bad for business?”

“I don’t think so, Friday isn’t generally a busy day anyway we would probably just end up doing inventory which can always be done another time.” He offered a close-lipped smile and tilted his head in a way he hoped looked casual, “and I thought it would be a good opportunity to see how you do the vendor calls? You usually handle that side of the business and it might be good experience for me in case I ever have to do one on my own.”

David smirked at him as he took the last bottle of product from the box in front of him and placed it carefully label down, screwing up his face as if in deep thought. “That could be nice, it would be good to get away and get my mind off the whole motel situation for an afternoon, I guess. Also, I have definitely not eaten enough, and I don’t think I can stomach café food after the traumatic morning I’ve had.”

“Hmm, we couldn’t have that now could we.” Patrick smiled, moving to the door to turn the sign to open, “Great, I’ll send her a message now and tell her we’ll be coming, we can close around lunch and I can drive us there.”

“Oooh _yay_ David, that sounds like such a fun afternoon for us!” Alexis cheered, jumping off the counter and heading towards the door. Patrick startled slightly at the reminder of her presence and stepped out of her way.

“Err excuse me, who said you were invited?” David snarked.

“Um, David, I had a traumatic morning too don’t forget, I think I deserve to taste test some free product on your little road trip.”

“Shall I ring that up for you?” Patrick asked as she grabbed a lip balm from the counter on her way out.

“So sweet, I’ll be back at twelve, don’t leave without me.” She pointed at Patrick and David respectively as she flounced out the door, hair swinging in her wake, letting the door slam shut behind her.

“I didn’t know she would--”

“It’s okay I shouldn’t have--”

“I should just--” David gestured with the empty box he was holding and dashed quickly towards the stock room, his head lowered as he passed Patrick.

“Okay, great” he replied, sighing quietly and forcing himself to perk up as several middle-aged women entered the store, “Hi, welcome to Rose Apothecary, can I help you with anything today?”

***

Mrs Westbrook owned a farm-house just past Elmdale, with a wrap-around porch and climbing ivy across one side, the house looked like it had fallen straight out of a romance novel.

The drive had been quick, Alexis had quickly taken authority over the soundtrack, “It’s the least I deserve considering you made me sit in the back Da-vid” she had exclaimed as she leaned over the centre console and plugged her phone in.

“Yeah, well maybe Patrick wanted to listen to something, considering it is his car and he is driving us all the way there.”

“It’s alright David I don’t mind; I would’ve offered it to you anyway.”

At that, David had smiled shyly, and continued to sneak small glances at Patrick out of the corner of his eye for the whole journey, which did not go un-noticed by either Patrick or Alexis, who kept smirking and reaching to the front to poke David’s arm teasingly.

Mrs Westbrook exited the ornate, window-glass front door as the car came to a stop on the gravel. She shook both David’s and Patrick’s hands in turn as they greeted her.

“Good afternoon Mrs Westbrook.” David welcomed politely.

“Oooh call me Mabel dear.” She replied nudging him teasingly on the arm, “I’m not that old yet. And this must be your partner that you said so much about!” she said, gesturing between Alexis and David, who took a large step away from each other and shook their heads in disgust.

“Mm, no no”

“Oh God no.” David bumped Patrick’s shoulder clumsily in his attempt to remove himself from that situation, and Patrick responded by holding out to grab onto David’s waist and hold him steady, “this is my sister, Alexis, she was not invited at all. This is my _business_ partner, Patrick, he’s the brains of the operation.”

Patrick tried not to flush at the compliment and focused on keeping his eyes down. God, he liked David so much. He didn’t know how to handle earnest compliments like that from his business partner without hoping for something more.

“Well, the more the merrier!” she smiled, eyeing Patrick and David’s close proximity as they headed towards the house, “Come on in, I’ve put the kettle on and I have prepared a range of the products that we talked about on the phone for you to try.”

They crowded a small table which was layered with various coloured jars, placed next to a small basket of bread, and some crackers and cheese.

“Now, this is my home-made Piccalilli, it is my husband Joseph’s favourite, it’s wonderful with the bread and cheese. The pickle is as well.” Mabel gestured towards the jars, heading towards the door that presumably led to the kitchen. “Could you give me a hand with the tea Alexis?”

The women left, Alexis reluctantly, repeatedly winking over her shoulder at Patrick as she walked away.

There was silence as the pair piled toppings onto bread. Suddenly, David moaned indecently, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he took a bite of a piece of bread, “that is delicious.” He turned to Patrick, who had frozen in shock in response to David’s reaction, and was staring at his lips, “you have to try this Patrick.” He didn’t hesitate, taking his hand towards Patrick’s mouth and waiting for him to open his lips fully.

Patrick obeyed, and took a bite of the offering. David’s fingers brushed his lips briefly, and they both blushed, catching eye contact as Patrick chewed slowly, “delicious” he responded, briefly, having hardly tasted the food at all.

He let his eyes drift down David’s face to his lips, leaning forward as if in reflex to his proximity.

“Patrick. I--”

Mabel and Alexis bustled back through the doorway just as Patrick was raised his hand to David’s jaw. They jumped away from each other as if burned, and attempted to look normal, returning their focus to the table in front of them.

“We’ve made tea!” Mabel said cheerfully, clueless to the interruption, “it’s a special blend from down the road at Mr Hockley’s, he grows it all himself you know!”

“Mmm, um, yeah, we, um, we actually stock his products in the store. They’re very popular.” David replied, shoving a large slice of bread coated in topping into his mouth.

Alexis smiled cockily as she stepped between David and Patrick, who mourned the separation but also breathed a sigh of relief as the tension that had built up in the room dissipated, leaving more disappointment and hope to settle, that the occasion in Patrick’s car a week before wasn’t as one sided as he had previously thought.

The rest of the tasting went smoothly, and they left with a fully-fledged contract almost completely finished. Patrick’s presence meant that the business and financial side of the agreement did not have to be left till over the phone, and David commented on how much easier it all was when he was there.

After saying their goodbyes, Patrick drove David and Alexis back to the motel, stopping in the same spot he had the previous weekend, and putting the car in park.

“Thanks, button” Alexis cheerfully exclaimed, shuffling towards the door and out the car, “you coming, David?”

“Yeah one sec” David replied, remaining deep in thought as he watched his sister enter the motel. “Thank you for today.” He said quietly, when they were in private.

“My pleasure, really.” Patrick replied, hardly louder than a whisper, as he dipped his head in an attempt to catch David’s eye.

He was successful, and for a moment they smiled at each other. Before either could continue talking, Stevie stalked out of the motel office and, spotting Patrick’s car, headed over to David’s side of the car.

“Hi Patrick.” She said politely as David lowered his window, turning towards David her tone switched from polite to comfortably brisk, “you’re late.”

“Late..?” David asked, cringing slightly.

“You said you wanted to stay at mine tonight because of the whole, you know, situation here. I thought you might have changed your mind and asked to stay with--” she trailed off, looking questioningly between Patrick and David.

“Oh my God I totally forgot. Is everything..?”

“Yeah everything is sorted, vodka is in the freezer and I was about to order a pizza if you’re still coming?”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” David hesitated once more, looking back at Patrick who smiled encouragingly at him, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Looking forward to it.” Patrick replied softly.

David smiled once more and climbed out of the car, nudging elbows with Stevie who appeared to be teasing him about something.

So much for a romantic vendor trip, Patrick supposed there would be another opportunity to ask David out more clearly. He couldn’t even blame Alexis for this one, it had certainly not been the most romantic of invitations and despite the disappointment at his continued failure to act on his feelings for David, he had had a good day in his company, and was looking forward to his next attempt more than anything.

He put the car in reverse and left the motel, heading towards Ray’s already planning his next course of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the second chapter, it was kind of torture to write the being interrupted again! They'll be up every day from now on.


	3. Dinner in Elmdale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Determined not to give in, Patrick invites David to a celebratory business dinner in Elmdale, hoping to finally reveal his feelings.

Determined not to repeat his earlier mistake, Patrick chose an explicitly romantic activity for his third attempt to ask David out. The next Thursday, Patrick set his plan into action whilst they were closing the store for the day. He was stood behind the cash desk sorting the float and checking their profits, whilst David cleared the shop floor and re-arranged ready for them to re-stock and do inventory the next day.

“-- and honestly, I don’t think Alexis was even that into Daniel Craig, she was distracted by Oscar Isaac like ten minutes later and abandoned him anyway.” David finished the story he was telling with a dramatic flourish of his hands and looked for Patrick’s reaction, who offered a suitable laugh and shake of the head at another tale of the Rose antics.

“You know David, tomorrow marks a month since we officially opened the store.” He said casually, pretending to focus on the open notebook in front of him.

“I’m aware, and the fact that my family haven’t bankrupted us already with the number of samples they’ve been taking is truly shocking.”

“We could do something to celebrate? Are you busy tomorrow evening?”

David looked up in surprise, “uh, not as far as I’m aware, what were you thinking?” He asked slowly.

“There’s a pizza place in Elmdale I’ve been meaning to try for weeks now. Ray can’t stop ranting about it, he says it’s the closest thing to a real Naples pizza he’s ever had.” Patrick sped up as he nervously tried to convince David, “Although, I’m not sure he’s ever actually been to Italy honestly, so maybe it’s not even that good, and I was going to invite you another time actually but there’s never really been a good opportunity and it would be nice to celebrate the store, you know, and all the success we’ve had, as a business, and things.”

David let him finish and rewarded him with a blinding smile as they caught eyes across the store, “I’d love that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t worry about the pizza, my standards in food are about as low as my standards everywhere else in life excluding my wardrobe. So long as it’s hot and greasy I’m happy.” He cringed as he took in what he’d just said, “uh, and that’s a thing, that I said, to you, so--”

“Huh, sure I think I can manage that.” Patrick laughed, closing the notebook and putting it away, “I could pick you up at the motel? At eight again?”

“Sounds perfect.”

***

This time, Patrick was set on making his intentions clear. He arrived at the motel five minutes early, wearing the same dinner jacket he had two long weeks ago, clambering out of his car and rushing to knock at the door.

He waited a moment, hearing clumsy movements behind the door that alerted him to David’s presence, and suddenly the door was thrown open. “Hi.” David said breathlessly, looking Patrick up and down approvingly and smiling widely at his appearance, “you look very nice.”

“Are we going to do it all again?”

“Mm, no, we can do it differently, give me one minute I just need to grab my phone.” David kicked the door wide and wandered into the ensuite bathroom, gesturing for Patrick to enter, which he did wearily, taking in the small motel, and noting how David had not been exaggerating about how small the beds were, or how close he was forced to sleep to his sister every night. He momentarily felt guilty about his assumption that David was being dramatic when he described the families living situation but had no time to linger on it, as Johnny Rose entered the door to his left, appearing from his own room.

“Patrick! To what do we owe this pleasure?”

“Hi Mr Rose, I just came to pick up David, we’re celebrating a month of the store being open with pizza in Elmdale.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, it’s always good to celebrate your successes, although don’t get ahead of yourselves. You don’t want to ruin all your hard work by becoming complacent.”

“Of course, Mr Rose.” Patrick smiled politely, craning his neck and hoping for David’s return.

“In fact, Moira and I were just about to head out to the café for dinner.” Johnny continued.

Patrick held in a sigh, already predicting what would come next.

“Perhaps we’ll join you on your little business celebration, it’s always nice to get out on a Friday night, and it’ll give us a chance to get to know you better since you’ll be spending a lot of time with our son from now on.”

“Um, what’s going on?” David asked, emerging from the bathroom having clearly done something to fix his hair, Patrick let himself hope that David was trying to look good for him, but any focus he could have had on David’s appearance were dashed by the arrival of Moira into the room.

“A wonderful idea indeed John, it’s about time we learned some more about David’s young entrepreneurial companion, and the avoidance of a meal at the café is always a worthy venture.”

Patrick looked at David helplessly, as his arms began to take a life of their own, gesturing in frustration, “um, who invited you to Elmdale with us, we were meant to be having a _private dinner_ to celebrate the success of _our_ store.”

“Oh, don’t get erratic now David, young Pat doesn’t mind us tagging along on your little professional excursion now do you?”

Patrick shrugged stammering something which the Roses took as acceptance of their self-imposed invitation. He turned to look at David, expecting to see some sort of anger at him for allowing this to happen in the few moments David was absent. Instead, David looked guilty and almost upset, his face reflecting almost exactly the emotions that were spreading through Patrick.

“Right boys, are we all ready, Patrick you don’t mind driving, do you?” Johnny asked, clasping his hands together in excitement.

David groaned in disgust and stomped out of the motel door, leaving Patrick to follow awkwardly in his wake as the Rose family climbed into his car, Johnny claiming the front seat, to his son’s fury, and filling the silence with polite questions about the store.

***

Patrick didn’t think he’d ever been so frustrated in his whole life. His physical presence to David was intoxicating and yet, he had no ability to act on the tension that had been slowly building between the pair ever since David’s birthday. They exchanged heated looks across the table as they took their seats, Johnny eagerly explaining to Patrick the success of the Rose Video enterprise and providing (frankly inconsistent) business advice to the pair, completely naïve of the evening they had interrupted.

A waitress arrived to take their orders, and they were left at the table.

“So, Patrick, I really never did understand why you wanted to invest in David’s business out of all the business ideas you must have heard in your job?” Johnny asked, “was there something in his pitch that convinced you or..?”

“Actually Mr Rose, David didn’t exactly try to pitch the store to me, he was only there to collect business licences.” Patrick started, looking directly at David whilst speaking to his father, “we got to talking and his idea sounded creative, and original, and he sounded passionate about it. I was intrigued and I kept trying to get him to tell me more, I was a bit rude about it at first I think, but soon enough it was clear that he had a solid idea, one that could be a real success, and that he just needed a little help getting it off the ground. That’s all I am really, David’s made the store the success it is, I’m just lucky to get to come along for the ride.”

As he spoke, David pursed his lips the same way he did when he was trying to hide a smile, glowing under the compliments.

“Well, our David has always had an eye for the appealing ideas” Moira joined the conversation, sipping at the wine that had just arrived, “we had no doubt that this little business venture would conclude in success for all involved.”

Their conversation continued, and before long they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. The restaurant was nothing particularly luxurious; with burgers and pizzas among the only options present on the menu, but the Roses were courteous and did not comment, David immediately making good on his promise that he was not picky on the quality of food, as long as there was a lot of it.

Distracted from the conversation which consisted largely of Moira waxing lyrical about some performance she had made in New York, and Johnny engaging with her, Patrick reached across the table to steal a chip from David’s plate.

David’s eyes widened in indignation as Patrick bit into the chip whilst holding eye contact. Becoming more shocked when Patrick winked discreetly, pretending to listen to what Moira was saying, but continuing to focus on David in the corner of his eye.

To his surprise, David made no effort to return to gesture, and instead, several minutes later, Patrick felt a kick to his shin under the table.

Well, it was less of a kick and more of a nudge.

Patrick flinched in surprise for just a moment as he realised David was initiating a game of footsie under the table. He suppressed a gleeful smirk as he responded, stroking his foot slightly up the back of his leg, watching David’s surprised but amused expression, and hooking their feet together intimately.

With such close contact, it was all Patrick could do to focus all his efforts on returning to the conversation, which he did, only faltering every so often when David shifted his toes, coincidentally stroking Patrick’s ankles softly with the side of his shoe.

“So, young Patrick, do you have a special beau in your life?” Moira asked after a moment of silence, giving him a cat-like grin across the table as David went pale next to her.

“Uh, um, well, not really, no, not at the moment.” Patrick stuttered, pushing food around his plate and decidedly refusing to look at her.

“Ahh, well it’s important to focus all your attention on the store at this early stage.” Johnny smiled, filling the awkward silence as best he could.

“Yes John, but there’s not use an attractive young man like Pat go to waste!” Moira battled on, waving her fork delicately in the air as if to emphasise her point.

“Hmm, _maybe_ Patrick doesn’t want to give all the details of his dating life to you.” David sighed, glaring at his parents.

“Well it’s always polite to ask David, no need to pry for attention.”

“Mm, not what I was doing.”

“Are you still spending time with that attractive gentleman? Stevie’s suitor?” Moira continued.

David almost choked on his food at that, “No! And we are not talking about this!” He exclaimed, going bright red and taking a large sip of his wine, “why don’t you update us on how running the motel is going Dad?” he asked desperately, catching Patrick’s eye almost apologetically across the table as his Dad eagerly led the conversation back to the safe topic of business.

From that point on, the meal passed torturously slowly, Patrick eyeing every movement of David, who at one point seemed to be slowly retracting his legs to return to his own side of the table. Patrick resisted this move, hooking his foot up and keeping their ankles locked firmly together for the remainder of the meal, earning a fond smirk from David.

At the end of the evening, he dropped the Roses off in his usual spot outside the motel, all three of them clambering out and heading towards the door after offering Patrick their thanks for the meal.

David hesitated by the driving seat window after he climbed out of the back, “I had a really good time tonight, considering the circumstances.” He said quietly.

“Me too David, can we talk tomorrow?”

“We can talk whenever you’d like.” David replied, waving lazily as he followed his parents into their shared rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's one of my favourites!


	4. Notting Hill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David makes the first move, leaving Patrick with more hope than he'd had before.

David kept his promise, and the next day arrived in the store early, around ten o’clock, in his signature white sunglasses, and a white and grey leopard print jumper that probably cost more than Patrick’s whole wardrobe.

“Hi.” He said dramatically from the door, pulling his sunglasses off his face and placing them in his pocket as he walked towards the counter where Patrick was stood doing inventory.

“Good morning David, you look nice.” He smiled, standing up straight and smiling teasingly.

“Yes, well, that’s a given.” David replied, as he brushed past and placed his bag in the back room before returning to the front of the store, “I wanted to thank you again for dinner yesterday.” He said slowly, twisting the silver fingers on his right-hand round shyly.

“You’re welcome,” Patrick replied slowly, feeling his chest tighten in anxiety as he tried to plan what to say next, “I didn’t pay for everyone though.”

“You paid for me though, don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“Uhh, well, it just seemed like, it was what I was supposed to do.”

David frowned at that, momentarily appearing taken back, “I can pay you back if you’d like.” He replied slowly, “I didn’t mean to make it seem--”

“No! No, no, you don’t have to do that.” Patrick spluttered, “I don’t want you to do that.”

“Okay. Good, then maybe--” Just as David was about to continue, the door opened, and the bell rang out through the store as a man and woman entered together. David swore under his breath as he turned towards the couple, “Hi, can I help you with anything?” he asked as he headed towards them, turning his business voice on almost immediately in a way which shouldn’t be so attractive to Patrick.

A steady stream of customers filled the store and it wasn’t until around midday that they were alone again, and David could continue with what he was trying to say.

“Are you free tonight?” he breathed in a rush, turning to face Patrick.

“Am I - uh, yeah sure what’s up?”

“I didn’t actually get to eat pizza last night after I was so _cruelly_ promised it.” He said teasingly, “Maybe we could get some delivered? You could come to the motel, or we could stay here, and we could watch a film or something like that? If that’s something you would be - interested - in.”

Patrick stood there with his mouth open in shock for a moment, heightening David’s anxieties as he just stared.

“You don’t have to obviously if it’s not--”

“Yes. No, I mean, _yes_ that sounds great.” He said, a smile growing, “but you could come to me this time, you know, so we have access to an actual television and everything.”

David matched his grin and fluttered his hands, “well, if you’re offering, we could leave together from the store tonight?”

“Yeah sounds good.”

They stared at each other for a moment longer, both seeming to want to say more, before the next customer entered the store and they had to turn back to work.

***

There was a quiet anticipation as they packed up and tidied the store that night. Wherever David went, cleaning and restocking as he went, he turned back and caught eyes with Patrick and smiled shyly.

Patrick was ecstatic. For the first time, he was almost completely sure that his own emotions were being reflected in David’s own glances.

They closed up in record speed, rushing out the store and to Patrick’s car, bumping elbows affectionately as they climbed in.

They arrived at Ray’s, and Patrick bared his teeth awkwardly, awaiting David’s reaction. “Um, why are we here, did you need to pick something up?” he asked slowly, putting the pieces together in his head as he looked at his partner, “you’re not saying. Oh my God, you live with Ray.”

“Guilty.” Patrick winced, “it’s only temporary, I didn’t know how long I’d be here and I, he offered a job and a room all in one.”

“I should’ve known, it was all a rouse.” David smiled, betraying his teasing.

“What is?”

“Stevie said that you seemed like the kind of person to have a fully stocked fridge!”

“I- what??”

“Like, you seem like you have your life together!”

There was silence for a moment as Patrick took in what David had said, “so you’ve been talking about me then?” he asked, pursing his lips and looking up at David through his eyelashes in a way that he hoped did not betray how much he hoped it was true.

“No! I, well, I mean, yeah, but that’s not the point! You are getting _side-tracked_ right now!” he exclaimed, pointing one finger accusingly, “ _when_ were you going to tell me that you lived with Ray?”

“Well, does it change anything.”

“Yes! Now I can tell Stevie that you’re not the eligible bachelor that she seems to think you are!”

At this, David stopped, face blossoming red and mouth hanging open in shock and realisation of what he’d said, “So you don’t think I’m an eligible bachelor then?” Patrick asked slowly.

David just rolled his eyes and opened the car door, mumbling something incoherently. Patrick practically beamed as he followed David, climbing out of the car and following him to the door.

As they went in, Patrick was unsurprised to see Ray stood in the kitchen. “Hello boys, nice to see you David! To what do we owe this pleasure?”

“Hi Ray” David sighed resignedly, “we were just going to watch a film?” His look growing urgent as he looked at Patrick for support.

“Uh, yeah, we were actually just gonna head up--”

“Oh, how wonderful! I’ll join you! What are we watching? Something good I hope?”

“Oh my _God_ ” David muttered, hand covering his eyes.

“Uh, we hadn’t decided yet Ray, actually--”

“I have a copy of Notting Hill that is just burning a hole in my recording device.”

At this, David perked up, and looked over at Patrick suggestively, “I mean, we could always--”

“Yeah, sure Ray, that sounds great.” Patrick sighed.

Pizza was cancelled in exchange for a serving of Ray’s questionable tagine, which was eaten quietly, occasional polite conversation intermitted throughout.

The film was turned on, and Patrick took a seat on the sofa as Ray took the armchair off to the side. He noted how David sat closer than necessary, curling his legs up on his left and leaning slightly towards the other man, his hands resting casually towards the middle.

Almost as soon as the film went on, Ray started quietly snoring, head tipped back and mouth slightly ajar.

Patrick shuffled closer to David and, under the guise of shifting positions, placed his hand directly next to his on the sofa, pinkies brushing lightly.

After a minute or two of constant contact, he took the leap and moved his hand to brush across the back of David’s. Unable to commit, he hesitated, but before he could withdraw his hand and cut his losses, David turned his hand over and they laced their fingers together, both smiling down, eyes on the film but focus on the clasp of each other’s hands.

They sat with their hands clasped for the whole rest of the film, David was a steady, warm weight by his side that felt simultaneously calming and exhilarating.

_“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”_ The film came to a conclusion, and a sniff alerted the pair that Ray had awoken and was present again in the room.

Unwilling to sever their connection prematurely, Patrick clasped David’s hands tighter, shifting them so that his knees blocked them from Ray’s view.

“Well, that was truly something.” Ray said, wiping his tears with a handkerchief.

“Mhm” David replied, covering his own tears with a sniff and quick brush of the fingers of his left hand.

“I’ll be heading up; can I get either of you anything before I go to bed?” Ray asked.

“No thanks.”

“I think we’re alright thanks Ray.” Patrick said smiling, but staying in his position, fingers still locked together with David’s.

“Alright, thank you for your company David, I hope we’ll be seeing you more regularly from now on.” Ray continued, standing up and heading towards the stairs. “I know Patrick is always very excited to see you.” He cooed as he left, leaving Patrick flushed red as a tomato in his wake.

There was silence for a couple of seconds before David turned to Patrick face on, smiling, “so you’re excited to see me huh?” he teased.

Patrick sighed, pulling up their hands so that they rested carefully at the end of his knee, “of course I like seeing you David, we are in business together after all.”

“Mhm. And we’re sure that’s all you’re excited about?”

“ _David_.” Patrick whined helplessly.

“I know I’m sorry.” He replied, seeming to drop the conversation, “It’s just, you do seem awfully eager to spend time with me is all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we have spent almost every weekend together since we opened the store.” David started slowly, “and that’s on top of spending every day together at the store working together. I just, would’ve thought, that by now, you might have got sick of spending time with me.”

“I don’t--”

“I wouldn’t be offended; most people would’ve got a little sick of each other by now.”

“David, I don’t think I could ever get sick of you.” Patrick said earnestly, placing his second hand over their already linked ones.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Patrick stroked slowly over the back of David’s hand, raising it to his lips and brushing it lightly, as David caught his breath and looked up at him, teary eyed.

“Patrick, _I_ \--”

“Me again!” Ray exclaimed from the stairs, and David and Patrick jerked away from each other, their hands separating, but remaining within reaching distance. “Oh, sorry boys, I assumed David would have gone home by now.”

“Nope, still here Ray.” Patrick replied curtly, any rudeness going unnoticed by his enthusiastic housemate and landlord.

“I should be going actually; Alexis will be all questions when I get back.” David said quietly.

“You don’t have to--”

“No, it’s okay, I’ll catch up with you at the store on Monday?”

“Sure.” Patrick said sadly, standing up to lead him to the door. “Do you need a lift back to the motel?”

“No, it’s okay, I need the walk, and it only takes five minutes.” David replied, smiling sadly.

“I really don’t mind--”

“Next time?”

Patrick smiled hopefully at that, “next time.” He whispered in response.

He watched David wander down the drive and towards the motel, shutting the door behind him and leaning his head back against it.

“I’m making cocoa, would you like some?”

“No thanks Ray.”

***

_10:54 So about that next time…_

**10:54 What did you have in mind?**

_10:56 On the weekend I like to go for a hike up towards Rattlesnake Point._

_10:56 I know that’s not really your type of thing, but I thought maybe we could use it as a chance to talk perhaps?_

**10:57 No interruptions?**

_10:57 That’s the hope._

**10:59 I’d love to come**

**10:59 But maybe we could stay away from the big hills?**

_11:01 Sure David, I’ll pick you up around 6? You’re a morning person, right?_

_11:06 That was a joke, I’ll see you at 11?_

**11:09 Oh thank God. See you then.**

_11:16 Goodnight David x_

**11:16 Goodnight Patrick x**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I think this one is a really sweet balance of teasing and sincerity so I hope you see that too!


	5. The Hike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick takes David on a hike in a mission to get some privacy to talk to him.

Patrick tossed and turned all night in nervous anticipation for the next day. Despite being awake in the early hours of the morning, which would usually be incentive for Patrick to head up and get started on an early morning hike, he hung around Ray’s, resisting texting David and distracting himself by focusing on cleaning and unpacking the last suitcase which had been sat by his bedroom door for the last couple months.

After unpacking, he had a quick shower, using a generous amount of the almond and honey body wash that David had said he liked the scent of, and dressing in his newest work-out clothes.

He tidied up as he went along, making his bed and throwing dirty clothes in the hamper. Once done he took a seat on his bed, picking up his phone.

_9:57 Still on for today? Don’t want to take advantage of a moment of weakness if you’ve changed your mind._

**10:22 I haven’t changed my mind.**

**10:23 Why, have you?**

_10:25 No, definitely not, I’ll see you very soon?_

**10:26 I’ll be ready x**

Patrick breathed a sigh of relief, allowing the tension that had built in his shoulders to dissipate and then rebuild as he thought on the next few hours. He thought of David, built so awkwardly, and always dressed in his thick designer sweaters, agreeing to come on a hike which probably constituted his least favourite way to spend the day, just to get some alone time with him.

That _had_ to be something.

He packed a bag with some snacks, chocolate bars and water, and threw on a zip-up hoodie over his outfit, checking his appearance one last time as he headed out the door and nodding in approval.

He arrived at the motel in no time, pulling up in his usual spot and preparing to get out. Before he could reach for the car handle however the motel door was thrown open and out came David, flying out at an alarming speed at the car and clambering in to the passenger seat.

“What--”

“Didn’t want to get caught by my family again.” David winced as way of explanation.

“Oh really?” Patrick asked, beaming at him, “are you sure, because I’m pretty sure your Dad said to me that we could go to him at any time for business advice, and I’ve actually been having some trouble with the books and was wondering if we could stop in and--”

“ _Patrick_ ,” David whined, throwing his hands up as Patrick laughed easily.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m joking, let’s go.” He said, shaking his head and putting the car into reverse, moving out of the motel carpark quickly.

“You’re not really having trouble with the books, are you?”

“No, David, I’m not.”

“Okay good.”

***

The drive out to the road Patrick usually used to start his hikes passed quickly, with soft conversation about the store, and the weather, and something about Alexis being pregnant which Patrick chalked up to a simple misunderstanding and made a mental note to pick that conversation back up another time. They pulled to the side of the road and Patrick put the car in park, climbing out and opening the trunk to throw the red backpack he had prepared onto his shoulders.

“Do you need me to carry anything?” David asked with a wince, eyeing the bag cautiously.

“Nope, all you have to do is provide your dazzling personality.” Patrick replied cheekily, with a half-attempted wink which had the desired effect of getting David to simultaneously role his eyes and smile fondly back.

Patrick had been happily surprised by David’s chosen hiking wear. He still wore his signature sunglasses, however the usual black jumper had been swapped out for a tight black t-shirt with the word ‘Don’t’ displayed in block white lettering across the front, a pair of loose black shorts, and a back hoodie similar in most ways (excluding price) to the one Patrick was wearing thrown over it.

They headed off together towards the usual hiking trail, but Patrick planned to veer off to the right at the fork which decided whether to lead up to the cliff face or down, and back round towards the parking lot.

They were quiet for a while as they walked, arms brushing lightly. Patrick was relieved to be out on the trail, allowing the cool breeze to blow away the remnants of any tension the week had brought, and David’s company was proving to be a huge addition even despite the relative silence, his mere presence seemed to settle Patrick’s restlessness and frustration at the sheer bad luck they had been having.

The trail was busy considering the fact it was a Sunday, and despite Patrick relishing in the freedom of David’s company away from their usual interruptions, they were not afforded the privacy that he was used to on his early morning hikes.

That fact didn’t bother him as much as it should, and he enjoyed the easy conversation and small glances that flew between them all the more.

After about two miles of walking, they headed over and stopped by a large boulder by the side of the trail, Patrick dropped the bag off his shoulders as they sat, pulling out his snacks and offering the bottle of water to David.

“You know, I never saw myself as the kind of person that enjoyed hiking before.” David said in between taking small sips of the water bottle.

“Yeah?” Patrick asked, distracted as he looked between David’s eyes, and his lips, where he could see a peek of tongue as he drank the water.

“It’s not that there was never any opportunity for it, I just figured it was for people who, you know, had their life together and stuff.”

“Eligible bachelors?” Patrick asked slyly, earning a firm nudge in retaliation.

“You know what I mean.”

“I disagree actually.” Patrick started, “The times I’ve been most in need of a hike have been when my life has been at its least organised, usually when I felt out of control of something, or had a lot on my mind, a lot to think about.” He trailed off, eyes fixed dead on David’s.

“Have you done a lot of hiking since you arrived here?”

“Mm, almost every weekend.” He responded, trying to keep on top of the silent conversation that they seemed to be having, every word weighed down by hidden meaning.

David nodded in understanding regardless, “I could like it I think.”

“Hmm?”

“Yeah. Hiking I mean, if I got to do it with you.”

Almost without realising, Patrick had gravitated to shift towards David, perched on the rock. He reached a hand out, brushing his jaw softly and turning his head slightly to…

“Hey, Patrick! David!”

“Mother _fucker_ ” David cursed, leaning back out of Patrick’s space and crossing his arms like a spoiled child.

Patrick turned to face Ted, who was panting slightly as he ran up to them, “what are you guys doing out here? I didn’t think running was your kind of thing David.”

“Yeah, we’re hiking actually.” David replied moodily, rolling his eyes, “what, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, every Sunday around this time I like to jog up to Rattlesnake Point” Ted replied, jogging on the spot in a way Patrick had never understood the necessity for, “It’s a really good challenge and keeps me healthy, much better than going to the gym.”

“Oh,” Patrick said slowly.

“I’ve never seen you guys up here before though, do you hike together a lot?”

Patrick shook his head, “nope, I only hike every so often.” He said, as curtly as possible as if trying to signal that the conversation was over.

Ted looked as if he were going to say something else but was cut off before he got the chance.

“Well, don’t let us interrupt,” David said, standing up and putting his snacks back into the bag, and lugging it onto his back, “we were just heading on anyway.”

Ted said his goodbyes, and smiled cheerfully, not phased at all, as he ran in the opposite direction towards the fork in the trail.

Patrick stood up quickly and rushed to catch up with David’s sudden movement and mood change.

“David I--” He tried, “do you want me to carry that?”

“Nope.”

“Are you--”

“Yep, let’s just go, I’m starting to get tired anyway.”

The rest of the hike passed in an awkward silence, the easy comfort and excitement of before replaced with something much more sinister. Patrick struggled to understand the total mood change and tried to goad David into conversation but after the first couple of attempts fell flat, he gave up, trying to make the most of David’s company regardless.

He parked up outside the motel and was surprised when David immediately undid his seat and reached for the door.

“I’ll see you at the store.” He said quietly, refusing to make eye contact.

“Er, yeah, the store, sure.” Patrick stuttered, his brain whirring a mile a minute to come up with something to make David stay longer, “David?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for coming with me, I really liked having you there, I- I had a good time.”

David immediately softened, but continued to climb out of the car, “Thank you for inviting me.” He replied tenderly, “I did too, I’m sorry for, you know.”

“Me too.”

With one last timid smile, David retreated into the motel, leaving Patrick in the car to turn around and head back to Ray’s alone.

He sighed, at this point he didn’t know what his next move could be. He had taken David on every first date he could possibly come up with and none of them had worked out the way he had planned. At this point it was getting embarrassing to keep pursuing David when all the signs pointed for him to give up.

But then, each date he got closer to kissing David. He’d never been so desperate for one kiss before in his life. David made him feel seen in ways he had never felt before. He felt safe, and encouraged, and he found David so attractive in almost every possible way, it didn’t seem fair to not be able to get even a chance to take it further.

And David seemed to want it too. Each date they went on there were more signs. If he wasn’t interested, then Patrick was pretty sure he would’ve commented or given him some sort of rejection by now.

But he hadn’t, he had asked again to spend time with Patrick, he had held his hand as they watched a Romantic Comedy even after Ray had intervened, he’d even agreed to go on that god-awful hike in order to spend more time together.

So, Patrick was disappointed, but he was determined to talk to David the next time he saw him, to get all this out and find out once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I had to let them get annoyed at some point and I took it out on Ted oops.


	6. Last Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick tries one last time.

Getting a chance to talk to David was harder than he had previously anticipated. He seemed to be on a mission to avoid being left alone with him. David arrived late almost every day anyway, but now he almost always appeared when there was already a customer in the store. Every time there was a lull in customers he would offer to go on a coffee run, or send Patrick on one, and in the evenings he tidied and cleaned with frustrating speed, rushing off to a meal with his parents, or to see Stevie, leaving Patrick looking sadly at his retreating figure.

It wasn’t that David was rude. In many ways his demeanour towards Patrick had hardly changed. They chatted about the usual things, teased each other and shared jokes, it was just that the tenderness which he was sure had been there before seemed to have gone away, or at least wasn’t being shown in the way it used to be.

He also maintained his physical distance from Patrick. Where there used to be little brushes of the shoulder and hip on passing behind the counter, and lightly touching fingers during restocking, David now instead stayed a solid metre away from Patrick at almost all times.

It was torture. Despite previously believing that the small touches were the real source of frustration for Patrick before, he now considered them as a gift that had released some of the attraction he was feeling towards his partner and helped to maintain his hope for the future of their relationship.

The tension built up all week, finally coming to a head on the Thursday. David was restocking as Patrick scribbled notes and sorted the money as usual. It was their normal routine, which he usually found comfort in, but this time, it did nothing but increase Patrick’s frustration.

He flipped the book closed, coming quietly around the counter to lean back against it, crossing his arms across his chest, “David?” He said tentatively, “are we at least gonna talk about all this?”

“Talk about what?” David retorted defensively, turning to face him from his spot across the room, hand still caught in a cat-hair scarf that he was restocking.

“You know what I’m talking about David.”

“No, I assure you I don’t.”

“You won’t even _look_ at me!” Patrick said, voice rising in frustration.

“I’m looking at you right now!”

“Well it would be the first time you’ve done that all week so--”

“That’s not true I’m always looking at you-- I, I mean, I, what does it matter to you who I look at?” David stuttered, half-turning back to the scarves and giving pointless little tweaks to the presentation.

“ _David_!” Patrick sounded desperate as his voice broke in frustration, “Will you just come here? _Please?_ ”

David hesitated, looking between Patrick and his display suspiciously, as if looking for an escape route. Slowly but surely, he came around the table and stood in front of Patrick, still at an arms distance but with nothing left to distract him.

“David I--”

Patrick was interrupted by the door opening, and Roland Schitt of all people strolling into the store, “hey guys, I was just looking for some more of that foot cream that Dave sold me the other--”

“We’re closed.” Patrick said, eyes not moving from where they were fixed with David’s, as he pushed himself up off from the desk to close some of the distance between them.

“Get out.”

“Alright geez, someone needs to teach you guys some lessons in customer treatment you know.” Roland’s voice faded as the door closed behind him.

“We need to start locking that door.” David whispered, pushing himself up too so he was eye-to-eye with Patrick, their faces mere inches apart.

Patrick didn’t respond immediately, instead opting to lean forward, cupping David’s face with his right hand whilst the left slipped around his waist and pulled them together, chests flushed, “Next time.” He said, just as he leaned up to brush his lips with David’s lightly.

There was no response, and for a moment Patrick thought he must have got everything wrong and started planning his escape to Ecuador in his head. Before he could pull away however, both of David’s hands came up to his neck, holding his face still as his mouth responded tentatively, but pushing him backward against the counter to press their chests even closer together.

Patrick gasped into his mouth as he felt the wooden worktop dig into his back. David took advantage of the gap between his lips to gently skate his tongue across his bottom lip. Patrick responded to this almost immediately, and as his tongue met with David’s his head swam, seeing stars as he leaned almost his whole weight against the counter in relief.

Before long, they had to come up for breath. They didn’t move away from each other, instead, David rested their foreheads together, breathing deeply. “I thought--” He started, stopping and looking away in embarrassment.

“What did you think?” Patrick pushed, his voice breaking embarrassingly.

“I thought you were going to do that so many times.” David’s eyes swam with tears, as he clutched to Patrick’s shoulders, stroking at his button-up shirt passively, “and when you didn’t I- I assumed it meant that you didn’t--”

“I do.” Patrick kissed across his cheeks and nose, landing on his mouth and peppering small pecks on each corner, “I didn’t want to come on too strong, and make you uncomfortable, or ruin anything.” He muttered between kisses.

David snorted, lifting his head as Patrick’s kisses travelled down towards his neck, “I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Well I know that now don’t I” Patrick remarked, grazing his teeth over a spot that made David whimper slightly, “I wish I’d done this earlier.” He said slowly.

“Me too,” David said, wrapping his arms fully around Patrick’s neck as he nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder, continuing to offer small kisses, and rubbing his nose against the neck of his black sweater.

“Are you busy tonight?” Patrick asked into his neck, “you could come back to mine and watch a film?”

“Will there actually be pizza this time?” David asked, leaning back to catch Patrick’s eye.

“I will get you all the pizza you could possibly eat if you agree to come back with me.” Patrick said in a serious voice.

“Mmm, don’t make promises you can’t keep.” David retorted, pulling him back in to the embrace and kissing him squarely on the lips again.

“There will also be more of this if you’re lucky.” He said between kisses.

“Um, I am not making out with you in front of Ray, Patrick.”

“You won’t have to,” he replied, eyes twinkling as he opened them and looked at David properly, “Thursday is Poker Night. He won’t be back until ten at the earliest.”

David gasped, stepping back and shoving Patrick on the shoulder, “Patrick Brewer! You knew that all this time and you never thought to invite me to yours on a Thursday?”

“I told you! I didn’t want to come on too strong!” He replied, chuckling and gripping at the sleeves of his sweater and trying to coax David back into his arms.

“There’s not coming on strong and then there’s not coming at all.” David paused, “I mean- I didn’t mean, I--” He was cut off by Patricks laugh, happy and at ease, his head thrown back as he stroked his hands up and down David’s arms.

“So, you’ll come with me then?”

“Mm, you should be so lucky.” David snarked, but his face softened quickly as Patrick started kissing back up his neck, rubbing his cheeks against the stubble on his face, “is this like, a date?” He asked quietly.

“Yes David, I am asking you on a date.” Patrick stopped what he was doing, “I should have done it months ago, but I am officially asking you now. David Rose, will you go out with me?”

David tipped his head back and closed his eyes as if holding back emotion before looking back at Patrick, “I thought we’d already established we were staying in though?”

“I give up,” Patrick replied, throwing his hands up.

“No, no, no, I’m sorry.” David laughed, making grabby hands at him to pull him back, “I’d love to go on a date with you.” He smiled into the kiss, and Patrick knew he’d soon be spoiled by moments like these.

They closed up the store and got into Patrick’s car, heading to Ray’s, and as they pulled away, David’s hand resting on his knee and small smiles traded between them, all Patrick could this was,

_I’d take David on a thousand more failed dates, just to get him to look at me like that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story! I'm almost sad that it's over I really enjoyed writing this one, thank you for all your comments and engagements they mean so much!


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